It's Just An Illusion
by its-a-four-letter-word
Summary: Circumstances tear apart a young teenage couple and fate brings them together. Draco a young carpenter's son and Hermione an heir to the throne plan an escape to keep them together. See first chapter for further details. Draco x Hermione. Please R&R.
1. Love Is Like Magic

**It's Just An Illusion**

**Author's Note: **This story has no connection with Hogwart's or it's characters. The only characters used are Draco, the Malfoy's and Hermione. The magic used also has no connection to wizardry. Therefore their are no wands. The magic comes from within himself.

**This fanfiction story is based on the movie The Illusionist**. The movie was so inspiring I had to write this story. The story is about the love between two people who are forbidden to be together. Illusions are almost used as a metaphor in this story, to describe how blind we are to things like love. How love is part of our soul, and no matter who we fall in love with, it is our soul that seeks their love and we should always follow our heart. Even when others do not believe.

**Summary:** In this story Draco and Hermione fall in love as young teenagers and are seperated over a long period of time but fate brings them together again. Unfortunately Hermione is engaged to Prince Nicholas. However Draco's determination has him and Hermione planning an escape...

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do Harry Potter. J.K Rowling is the proud owner. I also do not own the movie The Illusionist, or the following poem...**

**Poem By: Helen Steiner Rice:**

* * *

Love is like magic and it always will be

For love still remains life's sweet mystery

Love works in ways that are wondrous and strange

And there's nothing in life that love cannot change

Love can transform the most commonplace

Into beauty and splendour and sweetness and grace

Love is unselfish, understanding and kind,

For it sees with its heart and not with its mind

Love is the answer that everyone seeks...

Love is the language, that every heart speaks

Love can't be bought, it is priceless and free,

Love, like pure magic, is life's sweet mystery.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Love is Like Magic**

A smell of sweet blossoms surrounded a young Draco Ackland as he helped his father sand down a recent chair he had made. The saw dust crept into his eyes preventing him from seeing what he was doing. Draco stopped and looked up at his dad,

"Sorry father, I cannot continue. I got saw dust in my eyes. May I leave now?" he asked as he rubbed his sore eyes.

"Yes Draco, you may leave" his father replied.

Draco stood up and slowly left the room to the kitchen where he washed his eyes out with warm water. His mother came from behind him and patted his back,

"Draco darling, are you alright?" she asked in her sweet motherly tone.

"Yes mother, I am fine. I just got some saw dust in my eyes. But don't worry I will be fine." He replied as the water slowly fell down his face.

When he was finished he quietly walked to his room. He found such tranquility in his room. It was here where he spent most of his time sculpting things with his fathers leftover blocks of wood, and where he would practice magic tricks.

At a young age Mr. Ackland had taught Draco many magic tricks which kept him laughing and smiling. Draco was very interested in magic tricks, and as he grew older he studied illusions. By the time he was eight he was turning a stick into an elegant red rose. His parents new of his passion for magic and illusions and so they would often purchase books for him.

Draco walked to his parents room where his mother was quietly knitting him a sweater as the colder months were approaching. He walked in with a deck of cards in his hand,

"Mother may I show you a new card trick I have learned?" Draco asked almost in a whisper.

"Yes of course you may dear" she replied in a soft voice with a smile planted on her face. She loved Draco's magic tricks. They were fascinating and she new he was very talented.

"Pick a card, any card" he said as he fanned out the deck quickly in his hand.

She gently picked a card out from the middle and took it into her soft hands. She looked at it and telling herself it was an ace of spades. Then Draco asked her to place the card back in the deck. She did so, and placed it close to the middle.

There was a pause and the room fell silent as Draco stared at the deck for a second as if memorizing the design on the card. He lifted the deck vertically and placed his free hand high above the deck. He let his hand float there for a second before he began to levitate a card from the deck. His eyes followed the card as it continued to float towards the ceiling. It stopped once it was at eye level. He smiled as she took the card in her pale hand and they laughed. She pulled him into a warm hug and kissed his cheek. "Draco, you make me so proud" she said still holding her son. She admired Draco for all he had gone through. Draco left the room and she continued to knit his sweater.

Draco admired his mother for all she had done for him. He admired his father as well. They had both given him a loving home since he was a baby when he was abandoned by his real parents on the cold streets of London. They came across the baby boy swaddled in a blue blanket, inside a box where a piece of cardboard was placed around his neck on a string with the name _Draco _written in black. Not too long after they had brought Draco home they discovered who his biological parents were. They had come to the Ackland's door later that night to let the family know how thankful they were that they were willing to give him a loving home; something the Malfoy's couldn't provide. They were extremely poor, young and in desperate need of a place for their son to grow up. When the Ackland's offered them a place to stay, they refused and told them, "_You have already done enough for us" _and with that they left and were never heard from again.

The Ackland's were not very wealthy. Mr. Ackland worked night and day trying to make enough furniture to make money for his family. His furniture was said to be the best in all of London. His customers had even included the royal family of England. They lived not to far away in a castle-like palace perched on a high hill overlooking the beautiful green land. Draco often found himself sitting in the open field just starring at the blissful palace.

Mr. Ackland had told Draco that a young girl lived in the castle, the same age as Draco. This had been a topic of many of Mrs. Ackland's bedtime stories. Draco would fall asleep listening to her story about the princess and the prince. When Draco was old enough to know about love, he often pictured himself riding on a noble steed towards the palace gates to rescue the princess who dreamed of freedom.

Draco often fantasized about such things, he felt like it was a way of relieving the harsh reality of the world he lived in. As he got picked on at school, and made fun of by wealthy townspeople, he would picture the palace gates and the young princess.

And although it may have seemed like another fairy tale, it was reality, for there was a princess in the palace who had only dreamt of freedom. Her name was Hermione. Her mother and father were the king and queen of England, which only meant that she was the heiress to the throne of England. But for this to happen she had to marry a royal prince.

She had sat on her bed dreaming of what it would be like to marry a handsome prince. But little did she know, her father would be arranging her marriage to a family friend; Prince Nicholas of Italy. Not only was she not allowed to choose who she would one day marry, but her father had restricted her from any contact with the other children in London. The only friend she had was her younger brother Herold. He was six and she was thirteen. How she dreamt of freedom from this prison-like palace.

* * *

**This is just the beginning so if you liked it please review. Creative criticism is allowed. If you didn't like it, you can trust me that it is going to get way better!! Sorry if you don't like Draco's new last name but because he was adopted, I had to change it..but he still looks like the Draco we all know and love :)**


	2. Truth Be Told

**Disclaimer: ...see chapter 1**

**A/N: Thank's so much for the reviews! Keep reviewing and letting me know if you like the direction of the story and stuff alike! I was in deep thought while writing this chapter, and it just felt so picturesque. I actually reserched England's trees and wildflowers in case some of you notice details like this. I usually include some research within chapters to help clarify specifics. Well enough of that..hope you enjoy!

* * *

**

**Chapter 2: Truth Be Told**

Dressed in her horse riding uniform, Hermione stood in the stable brushing her horses long hair. She gently braided the tail and tied a small red bow to the end, completing the beauty of the mare. She saddled her up and climbed onto her strong back. Slowly Hermione and the horse disappeared into the forest. She was no longer in the sight of her controlling royal parents and had felt the first real sense of freedom.

Oak, Ash, sweet chestnut, birch, poplar, and sycamore trees soon surrounded her and the horse. She guided the horse slowly through the forest and once she noticed an opening up ahead the horse began to trot through the forest towards the opening.

She reached it and they came to a halt as they took in the beautiful field of wild flowers. From crimson clovers and chicory, to ox-eyed daisy and rose angel. Hermione was left breathless now standing beside her horse. She bent down, picked a blue flower, and held it under her nose. She began to smell a sweet smell, almost like one of her mothers expensive perfumes.

She began to wonder why she had never come here before. She had been on family picnics, but they were always on their property which only consisted of fields of trimmed grass. Hermione came out of her trance and looked back out into the open field. She quickly noticed a little cottage-like house at the bottom of the extended hill. She hopped back onto her horse and began trotting towards the house.

Half way down the hill she noticed someone laying down, almost hidden in the flowers. The horse quietly walked towards the young boy, as it appeared. Hermione was now metres away from the young boy who was staring into the open sky. They had stopped to look at him and see if he was worth approaching. Hermione figured this might be the only chance she has to meet someone without being forced into a friendship by her parents, as most royal children were.

She took the chance and approached the young boy from behind. Soon he turned to see her propped up on a beautiful white horse. He looked at her with his stunning silver eyes, and his mouth began to fall as her hair began to sway under her helmet in the gentle, warm breeze. Draco was awestruck, and although he knew this was impolite to stare he couldn't help himself. The most beautiful girl he had ever seen was before himself.

Hermione to had noticed the beauty of the young boy sitting on the ground with the flowers surrounding his body. She looked into his silver eyes and broke the silence with a shy, "hello".

Draco fumbled to find his voice, "h...he...hello" he replied nervously. She slowly climbed off her horse and sat in front of him. Draco pinched himself in his mind and quickly sat up straight to look at the wondrous girl.

He opened his mouth and without breathing he said, "my name is Draco".

"It is a pleasure to meet you Draco. My name is Hermione. I live not too far away from you. I was just taking a stroll to get some fresh air." She replied with confidence.

Once again Draco stumbled to find words, "I to live close by. The house below this hill is my home. I am not quite sure what I am doing here." He said almost sounding foolish but at the same time it made her laugh.

"Draco, are you ok? You act as if you have never seen a girl before" she laughed again, looking at Draco who was blushing almost blending in with the red flowers he was sitting in.

In embarrassment, Draco looked to the ground. Looking back at her he replied, "Well, it's just...I've never seen such a beautiful girl before" sounding more confident then before but with a shy tone.

"Oh, why thank you for the sincere compliment. You to are a handsome young boy" She replied blushing as well.

Draco was in shock at her words. He didn't know what to think. The way she spoke seemed so advanced for her age he felt almost ashamed of himself for not being more like a proper gentleman. His parents had taught him better but he had never had the opportunity to display his mannerisms. But at the same time he was very flattered that a girl as astoundingly gorgeous as her would pay him such a flattering remark. Perhaps it was just to converse and a means to draw away from his continuous stare. Neither one of them wanted to think any further and so with such a long silence, Hermione lay beside him in the field of flowers.

Draco sat up and looked down at her. He gently picked a flower from beside him and placed it in his palm. She sat up and looked at his palm where the pretty red flower lay innocently. Draco closed his hand with the flower inside and within seconds he opened it back up and the flower he was holding had turned into a hairpin. Hermione smiled and looked at him with confusion.

"How on earth did you do that?" she asked, truthfully not expecting him to tell her the full details.

"It's quite simple. However if I tell you, you would know my secret" and with that they laughed. They each knew it would take eternity to explain how he made that possible. "I have been doing illusions since I was very young. My father would teach me on his spare time" Draco said looking at the pin still sitting in his hand. He gently placed it in her open hand. She then took off her helmet. Her long, wavy, and silky hair outlined her smooth face. Draco smiled as she tied back a strand of hair lining her face, with the hairpin.

"It is very pretty Draco. You have been given a talent I have never seen before. My father has hired many strange performers but we have never seen an illusionist before" she said staring into his dreamy eyes.

Draco was taken aback by this. _What does she mean "my father has hired?" _he thought to himself. He had a puzzled look on his face.

"Is something the matter Draco?" she asked noticing the sudden look on his face.

"No...no...nothing's the matter. Well what exactly did you mean by saying 'your father has hired'?" He asked expecting her to say her father was the mayor of the town and he had hosted many banquets, of which he had hired such performers.

"Well Draco, promise you will not treat me any different if I tell you?" she asked with a cold and almost sad look on her face.

Once again Draco pondered the thought of her father being the mayor or even perhaps a well-known doctor. "Yes, I promise" Draco replied.

Innocence bestowed Hermione's face as she told him, "Well you see Draco, my father is...well...he is... the King of England" she looked down at the ground almost in shame. However she felt no shame but embarrassment. She knew somewhere, sometime she would have to tell her new friend, but not the first day.

Draco's jaw dropped as memories of his mother's bedtime stories filled his head. Questions took over his trail of thought, "Well then that means you would be Princess Hermione." Draco could have hit himself in the head for saying such nonsense. Of course she was Princess Hermione. The King of England had only one daughter. So he had been told in mothers stories.

"Yes...yes I am Princess Hermione. But don't forget, you promised to treat me no different. Treat me like you would a normal girl. Please that's all I ask" She said almost with tears in her eyes. She didn't want him to know her as the Princess. She did not like being so different from him. Although she was royal she disliked her position for she did not choose to be a princess. She knew there were girls around the world that would love to be in her position, when in fact it wasn't as glamorous as it appeared.

"Well, if you are the princess, then how have you been allowed to leave your grounds?" Draco asked, sounding almost like he was trying to prove otherwise.

"Well...my parents don't actually know I am gone. I told them I was in the stable grooming Mary, my horse, which I was. But I looked beyond the pasture to a forest I had seen so many times before. I had always wanted to explore outside of my boundaries, and so I decided why not, while my parents weren't watching" she told him with a smirk on her face.

"I see. You are a very rebellious young lady" he said smiling. They laughed and once again found themselves gazing into each others eyes. Although they were very young, they had each known about love. Hermione had seen many theatre plays and had studied the works of romantics such as William Shakespeare and other great writer's and poets. Draco however had been brought into a family that was made by love. Mr. and Mrs. Ackland were in love and therefore they had shown their love for Draco when they adopted him.

They were both familiar with the beautiful power of love, and at this moment they had felt nothing else.

* * *

**Please R&R!! **


	3. Disappear

**Disclaimer: ...see chapter 1**

**A/N: I am so sorry for not writing this chapter earlier. Got caught up with lots of school work!! But it's the weekend and so here is the next chapter. **

* * *

**Chapter 3: Disappear**

Months past, and their friendship blossomed into a relationship neither of them had experienced before. Hermione found herself lying to her parents to leave the palace to venture off into the forest with Draco, where they often found themselves talking about life and how although they lived completely opposite lifestyles, they were very much alike, and very much in love.

Sitting on the edge of a river, they sat hand in hand as their bare feet sunk into the warm water. They sat their for what seemed like eternity, and embraced each other. They continued their in depth conversation on how they planned to be together, no matter what the circumstances were.

They had already assured each other they would soon run away together to the small town of Canterbury, just outside of London. Hermione had the money, and Draco had the plan.

* * *

That night they went back to Draco's home, where he quickly put his deck of cards, a few items of clothing, and some food into a small bag. His parents were sleeping peacefully, completely unaware of their plan to leave London.

They knew about Hermione because he had often told his mother about how much he loved her. She would sit down and tell him stories about her first love and how they dreamt of a fairytale life. This inspired Draco, however he was determined to make it reality. Although they were only 17, they knew they wanted and needed each other for eternity.

He grabbed the small bag he had filled with some necessities and with Hermione, they left. He had considered leaving a note for his parents. But he decided there wasn't enough time. Eventually Hermione's parents would get suspicious and send people to look for her.

It always seemed like there was never enough time. Hermione's parents were already looking for suitors for their princess. She had already been given the speech about how she would marry the man of their choice and once her parents had passed away, she would be Queen. However, Draco had all the time in the world, after all, he was only a young carpenter in training with no big future plans.

They quickly began their walk towards the local train station, where they would get on the train to Canterbury, England. As they were walking panic had stricken them as they had to walk close by the palace. They tried to be as quiet and unnoticeable as possible, every slight sound made sent fear throughout them. It was pitch black and they had trouble seeing where they were going, the only light they had was from the small candle in the lamp Draco was holding, and the faded, dim moon peeking from behind the dark clouds.

They had stuck to the path as much as possible until it narrowed so much that they were ducking under low branches and striding through piles of twigs and dry leaves. It was much more noisier than before which had them walking much faster.

Now that they were completely surrounded by trees from almost every direction, the moons light was no longer visible. As it became darker, the chance of getting caught became more realistic. They could barely see now and they were stepping on many dead branches and twigs. As they began to speed up once again, they tripped on a very large but unnoticeable tree branch. They fell to the ground with sudden realization of what they were doing and how almost childish it seemed. They just laughed like they were the only ones there, but little did they know, a search team had set out into the forest in search of Hermione.

"Over there!" Someone shouted from behind the trees. Light was now visibly running in their direction. The silhouette's of several heavy set men were now easily seen coming towards them. Draco and Hermione quickly jumped up hand in hand and ran as fast as they could to a small cave like hole in the bottom of a very large tree that they were very familiar with. They quickly scavenged through the branches and leaves to find the board of wood covering the entrance. Without hesitation they pulled it out of the way and crawled into the small space, where they had spent so many hours talking and embracing each other.

Hermione watched Draco as he tried to move the wood to cover the entrance as much as possible. He sat back and as he turned around he noticed Hermione looking over at him with a slight smile on her face. He closed his eyes almost in embarrassment that his plan hadn't worked as well as they wanted it to. But they each felt safe in each others presence. Draco placed the lamp on the ground as he continued to look at Hermione who was sitting in front of him. Soon they closed their eyes and kissed each other like they had the first time in that field. Hermione pulled back, "Draco the light!" she said with fear painted on her porcelain face.

Realizing how foolish he was to not blow out the candle he quickly blew it out as they heard the large crowd of people getting closer. "Look over there!" they heard a man yell. "Quick Draco! Make us disappear! I believe in you Draco." Hermione whispered. She knew Draco had an unexplainable power to make things disappear. "Draco you said one day you would make us disappear." she continued with tears suddenly filling her eyes.

* * *

He quickly recalled back to the time they were sitting in this same spot talking about how one day they would leave London to be together forever.

"Do you want to see a magic trick?" he asked her.

She giggled, "sure" she answered, expecting him to turn around and pull a flower out of the ground. But he took a locket out of his pocket and held it in his fist, he motioned for her hand.

She held her hand out in front of him, "now close your eyes." he said softly. As she closed her eyes, he placed his soft hand over hers and gently placed the small wooden necklace into her palm. He took his hand away, "you can look now."

She opened her eyes and in her hand lay a small wooden oval shaped necklace. She looked at it with a puzzled look on her face. "What is it?" She said, knowing very well it was much more than just a necklace.

"twist it." he replied. As she twisted it, the wood shifted into the shape of a heart. She smiled, "now move the top and bottom to the sides." With that, she noticed a small picture of Draco inside the hollow heart shaped locket. She smiled and hugged him.

"Wow Draco, you really do have a gift. This is beautiful." She looked down at it, and closed it, the picture of him disappeared into the locket. She twisted it back into the oval and put it around her neck, fastening it at the back. "One day, we will disappear together. Just you and me." She thought out loud. "Yes we will." he replied and with that they shared another soft, lovely kiss.

* * *

Draco quickly looked at her and pulled her into his chest, and told her to close her eyes. She did, they heard the men getting closer and the light from their lamps shown through the tiny holes in the hollow tree. As it got brighter he closed his eyes and pictured them together at a small cottage in an open field that surrounded them as far as the eyes could see, but before anything could happen, a large group of men had knocked down the plank of wood hiding them.

They held on tight as a large man threw his arm towards Hermione and grabbed her wrist and pulled her from the tree. Draco held onto her hand as tightly as possible not allowing her to escape his grasp. They would disappear, together. That's what he promised. He was not letting her go without putting up a fight. "You can't take her from me! You can't! I love her!" He shouted at the man who was still tugging forcefully on Hermione's wrist.

"Draco! Don't leave me! I love you! Don't let go!" she shouted and with that, the man pulled hard enough to send Draco falling into the ground. The man now had Hermione in a tight grasp as she attempted to wriggle out of his hold. He ran with her to his horse and Draco followed. Men swarmed together to get Draco before he could reach her. They knocked him back down to the ground. "Hermione!" He shouted. Faintly he could hear her calling his name as she rode off towards the palace.

A tall man had grabbed him by his upper arm and lifted him off the ground, "You will never see her again. You hear me!" the man yelled at Draco. The man let go and Draco fell hard to the ground. He bent over and punched his fists into the earth as hard as possible. Tears poured from his blue eyes as he shouted into the night. No one could hear him now, he was alone.

* * *

**A/N: sorry to leave you hanging. I guess you are just gonna have to review to let me know if I should continue...I'm so evil :) If you are confused about what the locket looks like, you can search it up on the Internet, search up: wooden locket from The Illusionist on Google and you will see a picture of it! Hopefully I will have the next chapter up soon...but it all depends on the readers...R&R!!!!**

* * *


	4. The Princess He Could Never Have

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter characters I just like writing stories about them**

**Thanks to the reviews I got for this chapter I was able to go back and revise it and try and clear up ALL the grammar and other errors that were pointed out. Sorry for any confusion. **

**AN: This chapter was long overdue, but school's out for the summer so I will be updating more frequently. The next few chapters will be much more engaging and with much more emotion :) So read on...**

**The Princess He Could Never Have**

He sat there on the cold wet ground all night just crying and throwing curses into the night sky. "Why?" he asked with a trembling voice. No one was there to answer him, he knew there was no answer, things like this just had to happen. He knew it was too much of a fairytale to run away with a princess. But he loved her.

After many silent "why's?" he slowly drifted off to sleep there in the middle of the forest.

Hermione sat alone in her window as tears crept from her hazel eyes. As she looked out into the dark forest hoping to see Draco somewhere, she wept hopelessly as the wind of the night was silenced by the darkness. Draco was gone. She would never see him again.

She knew him all too well to know that he wouldn't be able to handle this and that he had dreams to be someone, dreams of big shows with large audiences. He dreamt of being an illusionist. They both knew that London was not the place to become famous. As Hermione thought about the possibilities of Draco leaving for good she could no longer hold back the tears. She sat there until morning crying for Draco to return to her and tell her this was just a bad dream.

But he never came. She knew he never would. Instead he woke up in the forest, picked up his bag and headed for the train station once again. After many hours of walking he finally arrived on time for his train. The extra ticket in hand. As he boarded he searched for a seat far from the other passengers. When he found a small single seat at the far end, he put down his bag and sat down in despair.

As the train began to move slowly along the wooden tracks, Draco found himself staring out the window just hoping he would see Hermione's face one last time. When he hadn't seen it he sank in his seat and continued to think about how much his life was about to change.

He didn't have Hermione there anymore to tell him how great he was. He didn't have his parents to watch over him and make sure he was okay. He was alone.

After three hours the train came to a halt at a much larger train station in Canterbury. Draco took his bag and lined up by the door as the passengers slowly exited. When he got off the train he began to walk to his aunt's house in the village nearby. He had only visited her a couple times shorty after her husband died. His parents were never really close with relatives unless something so devastating came up. But Draco was her only nephew so she gave him lots of attention during his visits. "You should come and stay with your aunt Lucy more often" she had said to him many times. He had thought about staying with her for a few weeks while his father's business was slow. He figured he could get his foot in the door and maybe get recognized by some local magicians. However the time never came, until now.

He had no money, and knew no one but her so it was the only option. He continued his walk to her small cottage house until he became too tired to walk any further. He sat down on a patch of grass beside the path he had been walking. As he lay back to look at the clouds forming shapes of animals, a small boy came out from behind a tree beside him.

"Hello! My name is Darwin! What brings you here?" he said this so fast Draco jumped up from his spot and landed roughly on the rocky path.

"Sorry if I scared you mate, I didn't mean to." he said with a laugh in his voice.

"No no that's okay. Nice to meet you Darwin, I'm Draco and I'm here visiting a relative." he replied still in a little shock from the small boys sudden appearance.

"Oh really? May I ask the name?" he asked like he had already known who Draco was speaking of.

"Uh, her name is Lucy Dalores. Do you know her?" he asked with sudden curiosity in his voice.

"Yes of course I know her! She is great friends with my mother. They have tea together quite often." Darwin replied with excitement.

"Oh, well are you going back to the village anytime soon?" Draco asked hoping the boy could accompany him on his adventure.

"Well yes I am, I just came back from the bakery with some bread for mother." The boy was happy that he had made a new friend.

"Care to join me?" Draco asked the young boy.

"Oh yes that would be great!" The boy was very charismatic and seemed to be a very well-behaved young boy so Draco wouldn't mind the company.

"Great then, lets be on our way." Draco replied.

The two boys continued their walk down the long path into the village which was now visible from the hill they were standing.

"So Darwin, how old are you?" Draco asked.

"I'm 7 and 1 half." he replied looking up at Draco.

"Really. I am not much older than yourself. I am 13 which would make me only 6 years older." In Draco's mind that was much older but he figured the young boy would enjoy knowing he had made a friend who could almost be like a big brother.

"Wow, I do not have many friends. I just moved here not too long ago and my family is not very rich so we are not very popular like some other families here." Darwin said looking almost embarrassed as he stared down at the rocky ground.

"I know how that feels. My family was never wealthy either. My father is a carpenter and my mother sells some food from a small stable in our backyard. So I never really had many friends growing up, matter of fact I met my first _real_ friend just a few months ago." Draco emphasized 'real' as he was speaking of Hermione.

"Oh really! What is he like?" the younger boy sounded excited now that he knew Draco was much like himself.

"Well actually _she_ was very funny, and very beautiful. I really loved hanging out with her. We would sit in the field all day and just talk. It was lots of fun really." Draco said with an almost sad tone of voice. But really he was happy that he had these wonderful memories of Hermione of which he would have forever.

"Oh. Did you _like _her?" Darwin asked with a big smile on his face.

"I loved her." Draco answered as he continued to stare at the ground beneath him.

"ooo la la" Darwin said as he laughed. Draco laughed as well. He enjoyed talking to Darwin because he seemed so smart for his age and he was very intrigued with what Draco had to say.

Finally they arrived at the busy village. Draco remembered this place but very faintly as he was much younger when he last visited. Likely Darwin's age.

The young boy walked with Draco to a small cottage house located beneath the hill. It was much smaller than it had looked before, probably because Draco was much bigger. Vines had covered the outer walls and with gardens surrounding the entire home. Draco walked up to the door and knocked lightly enough to not scare the woman but loud enough she could hear it.

Shortly after, a small woman opened at the door. "Hello young man." she said questioningly.

"Hello Aunt Lucy." Draco said with a smile on his face.

"Oh Draco darling, I barely recognized you. You have gotten so much taller from the last time I'd seen you. Where are your parents?" She said as she held onto his hand and gave him a big hug.

"Oh, well...I kind of left home. You see I came here in search of a job, and well I was wondering if I might be able to stay with you for a little while." he stammered looking down at the ground again. Darwin stood behind him with a puzzled look on his face. Draco hadn't told him that part.

"Well my dear you may stay as long as you want. Would you mind if I let your parents know you were here?" she said enthusiastically.

"Yes sure, I just didn't want them to come looking for me before I got to train station." he laughed slightly.

"Okay my dear, I will have a messenger let them know first thing after dinner. Come in and I will take your bag to your room. Would you like to stay for some hot chocolate Darwin dear? I am sure your mother won't mind." She asked the boy who still looked confused.

"Uh yes mam, that would be lovely." he replied looking at Draco who was looking back at him.

"Good then you boys come in, I will have it ready shortly." She replied with a big smile on her face.

Aunt Lucy had no kids of her own so she enjoyed the company of Draco and Darwin. She loved having Darwin over while his mother and father were busy with their small business. She would tell him stories and they would bake his favourite pastries.

Draco and Darwin entered the house and took off their shoes. Lucy went into the kitchen and prepared the drinks. Draco sat down on the sofa nearby and continued his conversation with Darwin who was still baffled. Lucy came into the room with their hot chocolates and took Draco's bag and went up a couple stairs and into a room on the right.

Once Darwin and Draco had finished their drinks, Darwin left for home but Draco promised him something special tomorrow for walking with him. Darwin was very excited and when he got home he told his mother all about Draco.

Lucy had prepared a nice dinner for her and her nephew. It was a small roast with some potatoes and gravy. She knew Draco enjoyed that. It was his favourite meal since he was a little boy. They talked about what had been going on lately and Draco had told her of his plans to become an illusionist. He had also told her about Hermione, the princess he could never have.

* * *

**AN: So I hope you enjoyed it, and if you want to know what happens next your going to have to review...I have to find out people are reading it somehow! Also let me know if you have any ideas or if you have some _constructive_ criticism. So please R&R:) Thanks!**


End file.
